Park Slope to Get One Bike-Share Location in May

As the New York City Department of Transportation and bike share operator New York City Bike Share (NYCBS) get ready to launch Citi Bike in May, 5,500 bikes will be available at 293 stations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. And 56 bike docks will be in Park Slope.

The initial rollout was supposed to be for 420 stations, however a lot of equipment was damaged during Hurricane Sandy while bikes and docks were stored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

But, the good news is that Park Slope, which was initially excluded from the rollout, will get one site on Fifth Avenue and Dean Street, according to a new map draft on the DOT’s bike-share program site.

The Park Slope station will have 56 docks located in the parking lane of the street.

And although Slopers will have to wait until the end of 2013 for more stations, one biker is excited for the single station on Fifth Avenue.

“I've used bike share systems in Boston, DC, London, Tel Aviv, and Barcelona and couldn't be more excited for Citi Bike to come to this end of Park Slope,” said Doug Gordon, who founded the site Brooklyn Spoke. “It will provide Brooklynites with a wonderfully efficient, reliable, and inexpensive transportation option.”

The DOT has promised a larger expansion by the end of 2013 at other sites, which were all selected through a long community planning process. The detailed site selection and planning work will continue for neighborhoods in Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights in Brooklyn, as well as in the Upper West and East Sides in Manhattan and Sunnyside in Queens. 

According to the DOT, the first phase of 5,500 bikes will be located in “the densest and most geographically contiguous parts of the service area” in Manhattan south of 59th Street and in Brooklyn within the boundaries of Atlantic Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Flushing Avenue, and the East River.

The second phase, by the end of 2013, will extend to 7,000 bikes in the remaining parts of the Brooklyn service area and into Long Island City, Queens. The DOT is still planning for the full rollout, when all is said and done, of 10,000 bikes at 600 stations.

See the info below about Citi Bike membership, but get the full details here:

• Annual Membership: $95 (first 45 minutes of every trip at no additional charge)
• 7-Day pass: $25 (first 30 minutes of every trip at no additional charge)
• 24-Hour pass: $9.95 (first 30 minutes of every trip at no additional charge)
• A special $5 one-day membership will be available for the first few weeks after launch.